Some adverbs have different forms to indicate degree of comparison.

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

walks fast walks faster walks fastest
writes neatly writes more neatly writes most neatly
hears well hears better hears best
behaves badly behaves worse behaves worst

 Exercise 5 Complete each sentence by adding the adverb in the form indicated.

Kayla swam [ more frequently than her sister. (frequently, comparative)

1. Stephanie seemed [ truly grateful for all the gifts she received.
(truly, positive)

2. I’ve never seen anyone walk [ slower or more slowly than my younger brother.
(slow or slowly, comparative)

3. The liquid in the third beaker bubbled [ most rapidly of all. (rapidly, superlative)

4. He will probably sing [ well in a rock band. (well, positive)

5. It was obvious that Josh had copied the drawing [ more accurately than Reese did.
(accurately, comparative)

6. The A group performed badly, but the E group did [ worst of all.
(badly, superlative)

7. If you trained harder, you could ride [ faster . (fast, comparative)

8. She changed from subject to subject [ more quickly than I could follow.
(quickly, comparative)

9. He knew the material in the chapter [ better than anyone else.

(well, comparative)

10. The green car was moving [ slowest or most slowly . (slow or slowly, superlative)

11. The black and white kitten behaved [ more shyly than the ginger-colored one.
(shyly, comparative)

12. Tony wore his letter jacket [ most proudly of all the team members.
(proudly, superlative)

13. All the students handed in their reports [ earlier than I did.
(early, comparative)

14. Your brother Chris did really [ well on his college entrance tests, didn’t he?
(well, positive)

15. The young woman in the melodrama sat [ forlornly by the riverbank and sang a
melancholy tune. (forlornly, positive)

Unit 1, Parts of Speech 67

16. The bells seemed to peal [ more joyfully than ever before. (joyfully, comparative)

17. Jessica handled the difficult situation [ most tactfully . (tactfully, superlative)

18. The doctor said she will see you as [ soon as possible. (soon, positive)

19. Our school’s team played badly, but luckily for us, Lincoln County played [ worse .
(badly, comparative)

20. Unfortunately, the team from Vernon played [ best . (well, superlative)

When an adverb modifies a verb, it may be placed in various positions in relation to the
verb. When an adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb, it comes immediately
before the modified word.
Modifying a verb Danielle is probably eating lunch.
Danielle probably is eating lunch.
Probably Danielle is eating lunch.
Modifying an adjective The ground was very dry.
Modifying an adverb We almost always take our dog.

 Exercise 6 Place a check next to each sentence in which the adverb is positioned correctly.
✔ Owning a bike probably requires some knowledge of repair.
✔ 1. Bikes work much more efficiently when all their systems are adjusted properly.

2. If you learn to repair your own bike, you’ll never have to take it to a bike shop almost.
✔ 3. Generally, a person who is handy can repair most things on a bike.

4. There are, however, quite some difficult jobs that are best left to a professional.
✔ 5. Probably the most important safety feature on a bicycle is the brakes.
✔ 6. You can adjust the brakes more easily with a simple tool called a third hand.
✔ 7. A third hand simply holds the yokes apart so that you can adjust the rubber brake pads.

8. It’s time to adjust the brake pads when they start making an unpleasant screeching
sound somewhat.
✔ 9. The brake pads should press smoothly against the metal wheel rims.

10. Another occasionally repair that bike owners attempt is cleaning or replacing an old
chain.
✔ 11. Scrubbing a dirty chain with kerosene and an old toothbrush will usually do the trick.

12. Rarely only does a chain or other part need to be completely replaced.

68 Grammar and Language Workbook, Grade 9

Lesson 10
Prepositions

A preposition is a word that shows the relationship of a noun or a pronoun to some other
word in a sentence.
The cat food is inside the cupboard. We’ll go to the movie after lunch.

These are some commonly used prepositions:

aboard as but (except) in out toward
about at by inside outside under
above before concerning into over underneath
across behind despite like past until
after below down near pending unto
against beneath during of regarding up
along beside except off since upon
amid besides excepting on through with
among between for onto throughout within
around beyond from opposite to out
A compound preposition is a preposition made up of more than one word.
according to apart from because of in front of next to out of
ahead of aside from by means of in spite of on account of owing to
along with as to in addition to instead of on top of
Prepositions begin phrases that generally end with a noun or a pronoun called the object
of the preposition.
The horses jumped over the fence. They showered the king with gifts.

 Exercise 1 Circle the prepositions in each sentence. Sentences can have more than one
preposition. If the sentence has no prepositions, circle nothing.

Keith visited the island during the rainy season.

1. Roberto Clemente was one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

2. Roberto Walker Clemente was born on August 18, 1934, in Carolina, Puerto Rico.

3. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

4. Clemente began his career playing softball for the Santruce Cangrejeros.

5. He played with them until 1953, when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

6. Clemente played his entire major league career as an outfielder with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

7. He batted and threw right-handed throughout his career.

8. Although he weighed only 175 pounds, Clemente used one of the heaviest bats in the big leagues.

9. Clemente could hit with power, averaging seventeen home runs in a season.

Unit 1, Parts of Speech 69

10. In 1967 Clemente achieved his highest batting average of .357.

11. He batted .362 in the 1960 and the 1971 World Series.

12. He was named Most Valuable Player at the end of the 1966 season.

13. Roberto Clemente was also the most feared defensive outfielder of his time.

14. His powerful throwing arm was legendary.

15. He led the league in throwing out base runners five times.

16. His acrobatic fielding often took fans’ breath away.

17. Sandy Koufax’s advice for pitching to Clemente was “Roll the ball.”

18. The manager of the New York Yankees called Clemente the best rightfielder he had ever seen.

19. Clemente played on twelve National League All-Star teams during his career.

20. On the last day of the regular 1972 season, Roberto got his three-thousandth hit.

21. Clemente was a superstar on the baseball field, but he is also remembered for other things.

22. When the Puerto Rican-born Clemente played his first game in 1955, fewer than twenty-five

Hispanic players were on the rosters.

23. Hispanic players faced prejudice from both teammates and fans.

24. In fact Roberto Clemente was called “Bob” in his first few seasons because many Americans

were still uncomfortable with foreign-sounding names.

25. Major league baseball had been allowing African American players for less than ten years.

26. Like Jackie Robinson, the first African American in the major leagues, Roberto Clemente

changed the attitudes of baseball fans across the country.

27. When the Pirates won the 1960 World Series, Clemente skipped the team party.

28. Instead, he walked around the neighborhoods of Pittsburgh thanking fans for their support.

29. Clemente often helped people in trouble.

30. Clemente’s concern for others cost him his life.

31. When an airplane carrying supplies for earthquake victims in Nicaragua crashed into the

Caribbean Sea on December 31, 1972, Roberto Clemente was aboard that plane.

32. His loss was felt by Puerto Rico, the city of Pittsburgh, and baseball fans everywhere.

33. Roberto Clemente helped make a difference in the lives of many people.

70 Grammar and Language Workbook, Grade 9

Lesson 11
Conjunctions: Coordinating, Correlative, and
Subordinating; Interjections

A conjunction is a word that joins single words or groups of words. A coordinating

conjunction joins words or groups of words that have equal grammatical weight in a
sentence. And, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet are coordinating conjunctions.
Germaine washed the dishes and dried them.
The squirrel buried the nut, but the dog dug it up.

Correlative conjunctions work in pairs to join words and groups of words of equal
weight in a sentence.
both...and just as...so not only...but also
either...or neither...nor whether...or
Both whales and dolphins are mammals.
Whether I fail or succeed, my parents will still support me.

A subordinating conjunction joins two ideas, or clauses, so that one is grammatically

dependent on the other.
after as long as if than whenever
although as soon as in order that though where
as as though since unless whereas
as far as because so until wherever
as if before so that when while
He listened to music until he fell asleep.
Whenever I see a mountain, I want to climb it.

 Exercise 1 Circle the conjunctions. In the blank write coord. if the conjunction is coordinating.
Write corr. if the conjunction is correlative. Write sub. if the conjunction is subordinate.
sub. We will leave for vacation as soon as the tickets arrive.
sub. 1. While many people have watched a marathon race, few have ever competed in one.
coord. 2. It’s Friday night, and I have to stay home to clean my room.

corr. 3. Neither Sasha nor her brother could locate the car.
coord. 4. We will visit Washington, D.C., or Williamsburg, Virginia, in June.

sub. 5. Although I prefer apples, I also like strawberries.

corr. 6. Both Jason and Eric made the basketball team.
sub. 7. Whenever the parents leave for work, the children throw a temper tantrum.
sub. 8. The fans were quiet until the golfer putted.

Unit 1, Parts of Speech 71

coord. 9. The deadline for our science project is in two weeks, so you still have time.
corr. 10. Not only did Maria win, but she also broke her record.
coord. 11. Patrick overslept and missed the bus.

sub. 12. In soccer, as long as you head the ball properly, it will not hurt you.
corr. 13. Coach Ramirez debated whether to kick or to run.
sub. 14. When the verdict came in, the defendant sobbed.
coord. 15. Is Dad cooking dinner tonight or ordering pizza?

sub. 16. Wherever the divers went, they found a treasure.

corr. 17. Either your assignments are in on time or you fail the course.
sub. 18. The Jacksons lock their doors every night because thefts occur frequently in their town.
coord. 19. The storm intensified, but the hikers continued their journey.

corr. 20. Just as radar works by sending out signals, so does sonar.

An interjection is a word that expresses emotion or exclamation. An interjection has no

grammatical connection to other words.
oh wow oops ouch well whew ah yipes uh-oh
gee ow hey hooray alas why man my uh-huh
Why, I didn’t realize that. Oops, sorry about that. Uh-oh, she’d better watch out.

 Exercise 2 Complete each sentence by choosing an interjection from the list above. Answers
will vary. Suggestions are given.
Uh-oh , I forgot my jacket.

1. [ Ow ! That hurt!

2. [ Hooray ! We won!

3. [ Uh-huh , I’m going. Will I see you there?

4. [ Whew , that was a close call.

5. [ Oh , I didn’t know you wanted to come.

6. [ Ah , that tastes great!

7. [ Well , if you don’t want to play, don’t play.

8. [ Ouch ! You stepped on my foot.

9. [ Why , what did you think it meant?

10. [ My , how you’ve grown.

72 Grammar and Language Workbook, Grade 9

 Unit 1 Review

 Exercise 1 In the blank, identify the part of speech of the words in italics. Write n for a noun
and p for a pronoun. Write adj. for an adjective and adv. for an adverb. Write v for a verb, prep.
for a preposition, c for a conjunction, and i for an interjection.
adj. 1. The United States has hundreds of important historical sites, many of which have been
designated national monuments.
c 2. Our national monuments include both natural wonders and structures built by people.
v 3. Millions of tourists visit these monuments every year.
prep. 4. Some of the monuments, such as the Statue of Liberty, are located in urban areas.
p 5. Others, including Yellowstone, the first national park, are located far from big cities.
adv. 6. One of the most popular national monuments is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
n 7. On the wall are the names of more than fifty-eight thousand Americans who died in the
Vietnam War from 1960 to 1975.
v 8. The nation’s capital is also the site of memorials to many outstanding Americans.
prep. 9. High points of a visit to Washington, D.C., are the Washington Monument, the Lincoln
Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial.
n 10. Massive images of these three presidents, along with one of Theodore Roosevelt, are
included in the Mount Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota.
v 11. Not all of our national monuments honor famous people.
adv. 12. If you visited southwestern Colorado, you would find there Mesa Verde National Park.
n 13. Mesa Verde is a collection of Native American cliff dwellings.
p 14. Here is an ancient apartment building with 217 rooms—all under one roof!
adj. 15. The country’s highest mountain, Mount McKinley, is in Denali National Park in Alaska.
adv. 16. Surprisingly, the lowest point in the United States is also a national monument.
n 17. In fact California’s Death Valley is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere.
prep. 18. Other national monuments honor groups of Americans, among them the Women’s
Rights National Historic Park and the Civil Rights Memorial.
adj. 19. Seneca Falls, New York, is the site of the first large meeting held in 1848 to plan a
campaign to bring equal rights to women.
adj. 20. The Civil Rights Memorial was built in Montgomery, Alabama, where Martin Luther
King Jr. led a boycott of the city bus system to protest racial discrimination.

Unit 1, Parts of Speech 73

 Cumulative Review: Unit 1

 Exercise 1 In the blank write n if the italicized word is used a noun. Write p if it is used as a
pronoun. Write v if it is used as a verb. Write adj. if it is used as an adjective. Write adv. if it is
used as an adverb. Write c if it is used as a conjunction. Write prep. if it is used as a preposition.
Write i if it is used as an interjection.

v 1. He cut six slices of bread and put them on the plate.

adv. 2. Her letter came back stamped “Return to Sender.”
n 3. In all fairness, I haven’t heard his side of the story yet.
adj. 4. The freight train pulled off onto a side track to let the passenger train pass.
adv. 5. The hero rode off into the sunset, and the townspeople haven’t seen him since.
c 6. Since you’re so sure you’re right, why don’t you raise your hand?
prep. 7. You probably drove past the school building on your way here.
adj. 8. A person who can’t dance very well is sometimes said to have two left feet.
adv. 9. The problem is they turned right when they should have turned left.
prep. 10. Whenever she insists on going up the down staircase, it causes a massive traffic jam.

i 11. Why, you’re the news anchor for the Channel 10 news!
adv. 12. I do not want that rusty old bicycle.
v 13. It was fascinating to watch the border collies corner the runaway sheep.
n 14. If you ask me, the best thing about winter is that it’s always followed by spring.
c 15. Before you go, be sure to turn off all the lights and close the curtains.
prep. 16. I told her I would call her before next Monday.

n 17. The fans cheered wildly when the American women won the shot put at the track meet.
adj. 18. The sales clerk at the department store said I could choose either blouse.
p 19. Richard said he didn’t really care for either.
i 20. Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
v 21. If you don’t clean your car’s carburetor, the engine won’t run smoothly.
c 22. When I found out about the concert, I was really upset.

74 Grammar and Language Workbook, Grade 9